THE PHILIPPINES, DECEMBER 2011: The Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA), Kapisanan ng Mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) and the Ad Standards Council (ASC) have adopted, in part or in full, the provisions of the revised Consolidated International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Code of Advertising and Marketing Communications.
The ICC, founded in 1919, is the global business organization covering all sectors. It groups thousands of member companies and associations from over 130 countries.
The revised Consolidated ICC Marketing Code is the work of the ICC’s Commission on Marketing and Advertising, a major rule-setter in international advertising self-regulation since 1937, composed of policy experts from ICC member companies in the marketing and advertising industry.
The revised consolidated ICC marketing code, launched recently at a global conference in Buenos Aires provides new protection for internet users and detailed standards for marketers selling to them are highlighted in a newly revised code of global marketing practice.
Among the Code’s provisions are the setting of conditions and limits for online behavioral targeting of advertising (OBA), establishing restrictions on products that may be marketed to children and information gathered from them, specifying guidelines for making responsible environmental marketing claims and creating sound food and beverage ads, setting standards for ethical behavior and transparency on digital communications for the new technology players, and protecting consumer privacy with clear guidance on consumers’ rights.
In adopting the ICC code, PANA President Jojo Rojo said, “PANA ‘s vision and mission are anchored on globally-aligned initiatives to promote self-regulation, as well as responsible and truthful communications. Our adoption and promotion of the ICC Marketing Code ensures that our member-companies and the advertising industry at large, remain attuned to face the current global challenges, particularly the fast-growing digital media and the greater consumer vigilance and awareness due to the wide adoption of the Internet.”
On behalf of KBP, its president President Ruperto Nicdao, Jr. said that the KBP decided to adopt relevant parts of the ICC Code to its own Broadcast Code. “The ICC Marketing Code is like a t from heaven as it provided all the inputs we need to update our code based on the latest marketing developments in global business,” Nicdao added.
The Philippine advertising industry has practiced self-regulation since 1974. Today, that task falls under the Ad Standards Council (ASC), established by the KBP, PANA and 4As-Philippines to handle screening of all broadcast, out-of-home, print and digital advertising and settlement of disputes regarding advertising content. The ASC took over the functions of the AdBoard ACRC (Advertising Content & Regulations Committee) starting March 2008.
Commenting on the ICC Code, ASC General Manager Jun Alcantara said, “The revised ICC Marketing Code complements very well the ASC’s updated Marketing and Advertising Code of Ethics which we just released in August this year.”
Pedro N. Dy-Liacco, Jr., formerly Director of Communications at Nestle Philippines and currently a consultant and director for the company, introduced the consolidated ICC marketing code to PANA, KBP and ASC, in an effort to harmonize the different local codes with the global standard. Dy-Liacco represents Nestle S.A. in the ICC Commission on Marketing and Advertising.
The full text of the revised ICC Marketing Code can be downloaded from: www.codescentre.com.
